LAWRENCE  J.  GUTTER 

Collection  of  Chicogoono 

THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   ILLINOIS 
AT  CHICAGO 

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KEITH   MEMORIAL 


In   Memoriam 


Elbridge  Gerry  Keith 


Born  at  Barre,  Vermont, 
July   1 6,   1840 

Died  at  Chicago,   Illinois, 
May   17,   1905 


SEMPER    FIDELIS 


^ 


CHICAGO 

PRIVATELY    PRINTED 

MDCCCCVI 


The  Directors  of  the  Chicago  Title 
and  Trust  Company  present  this  testimonial 
of  their  appreciation  of  the  life  and  charac- 
ter of  the  late  president  of  the  company, 
Elbridge  G.  Keith. 


GEORGE  BIRKHOFF,  JR. 
IRA  M.  COBE 
BERNARD  A.  ECKHART 
OTTO  C.  BUTZ 
HELGE  A.  HAUGAN 
MARVIN  A.  FARR 
DAVID  B.  LYMAN 
J.  LEWIS  COCHRAN 


JAMES  B.  FORGAN 
EDMUND  A.  CUMMINGS 
A.  R.  MARRIOTT 
WILLIAM  C.  NIBLACK 
GEORGE  E.  RICKCORDS 
EDWARD  A.  SHEDD 
JOHN  G.  SHORTALL 
CHARLES  H.  WACKER 


31n  jHemortam 


ELBRIDGE  GERRY  KEITH  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Martin  and  Betsey  Keith, 
and  was  a  direct  descendant  of  James  Keith, 
a  Scotch  Presbyterian  clergyman,  who  gradu- 
ated at  Aberdeen  College,  came  to  America 
about  1650,  and  settled  in  Bridgewater, 
Mass. 

His  early  years  were  spent  on  a  farm. 
After  completing  a  course  of  study  in  his 
native  town  and  in  Newbury  Seminary,  he 
became  a  clerk  in  a  general  store  at  Barre. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  Mr.  Keith 
came  to  Chicago,  where  his  two  brothers, 
Edson  and  Osborne  R.,  had  preceded  him. 
During  the  first  eighteen  months  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Chicago  he  had  several  occupations, 
and  in  1859  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  store 
of  his  brothers.     They  were  associated  with 

7 


IN    MEMORIAM 

a   Mr.    Faxon,   under   the    name   of    Keith 
Brothers   and    Faxon,    dealers   in   hats   and 
caps.     In  1865,  when  Mr.  Faxon  retired,  he 
was  admitted  as  a  partner,  and  the  firm  name 
was  changed  to   Keith  Brothers.     In   1885 
the    business  was   incorporated    under    the 
name  of  Edson  Keith  &  Co.,  and,  though  he 
was  president  of  the   corporation  until  his 
death,  he  did  not  specially  devote  his  time 
to  its  afifairs.     In  1881  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Livingston  County  State  Bank  of 
Pontiac,  Illinois,   and   divided  his  time  be- 
tween his  interests  in  Chicago  and  that  bank. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Met- 
ropolitan National  Bank  of  Chicago  in  1884, 
and  was  the  president  of  the  bank  from  that 
time  until  its  consolidation  with  the   First 
National  Bank  of  Chicago  in  1902.     Imme- 
diately after  the  consolidation  of  the  banks 
he  was    elected   president   of   the    Chicago 
Title    and   Trust    Company,   and   held   that 
position  when  he  died. 

8 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY     KEITH 

He  was  always  interested  in  public  and 
political  affairs.  When  about  fourteen  years 
of  age,  he  walked  twelve  miles  to  attend  the 
first  state  convention  of  the  Republican 
party  in  Vermont.  Though  not  yet  a  voter 
in  1858  and  1860,  he  went  to  political  meet- 
ings and  took  great  interest  in  the  cause  of 
the  Republican  party.  At  the  University 
of  Illinois  he  recently  delivered  an  address 
on  the  Republican  National  Convention  of 
1860.  He  was  so  calm  and  courteous  in  the 
expression  of  his  political  opinions  that  few 
persons  realized  how  fixed  and  settled  they 
really  were.  He  was  active  in  ward,  city, 
county  and  state  politics,  and  was  a  factor  in 
nominating  conventions.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  national  convention  in  which  Garfield 
was  nominated  in  1880.  Though  often 
urged  to  accept  positions  of  high  political 
importance,  he  repeatedly  declined.  He, 
however,  took  great  interest  in  the  public 
schools,  and  served  on  the  board  of  educa- 


IN    MEMORIAM 

tion  from  1887  to  1894.  Afterward  the 
board  named  one  of  its  schools  the  "Keith 
School."  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
one  of  the  trustees  of  Beloit  College  and 
treasurer  of  the  University  of  Illinois. 

He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Union  League  Club.  At  different  times  he 
was  president  of  the  Union  League  (1883), 
the  Commercial  (1892) ,  and  the  Bankers' 
Club  (1890),  the  Chicago  Clearing-House 
(1888) ,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, and  the  Chicago  Orphan  Asylum,  and 
treasurer  of  the  Chicago  Bible  Society,  the 
Bureau  of  Charities,  the  Home  of  the 
Friendless,  and  the  University  of  Illinois. 

He  was  a  director  of  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  and  an  active  worker  in  that 
great  enterprise. 

During  his  life  in  Chicago  he  took  an 
active  part  in  all  movements  tending  to  the 
welfare  of  the  city,  the  state  and  the  nation. 
He   was   a   firm    believer   in   philanthropic 

10 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY    KEITH 

work,  and  was  a  generous  giver  to  many 
charities.  For  more  than  thirty  years  he 
was  a  member  of  Christ  Reform  Episcopal 
Church,  and  for  many  years  he  was  its  senior 
warden.  He  gave  Hberally  both  in  time  and 
money  to  reHgious  work,  and  was  well  known 
as  a  worker  in  missions  of  the  church.  The 
devotion  between  him  and  his  brothers  was 
one  of  the  marked  characteristics  of  their 
lives,  and  the  death  of  each  of  them  made  a 
profound  impression  on  him. 

In  December,  1865,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Harriet  S.  Hall  of  La  Salle,  Illinois, 
who  survives  him.  He  left  three  sons,  Carl, 
Stanley  and  Harold,  and  one  daughter.  Miss 
Bessie. 


IN    MEMORIAM 


The  Chicago  Daily  Tribune  of  May  18, 
1905,  contained  the  following  editorial  com- 
ment: 

ELBRIDGE  G.  KEITH 

For  nearly  half  a  century  Elbridge  G. 
Keith  was  in  business  life  in  Chicago.  Dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  that  time  he  was 
pominently  before  the  public  as  a  leading 
merchant,  as  the  head  of  great  corporations, 
and  as  an  active  politician.  In  these  different 
fields  of  activity  he  so  conducted  himself  as 
to  win  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  him. 

As  a  business  man  Mr.  Keith  was  shrewd 
and  long-headed,  but  he  was  not  grasping 
or  avaricious.  He  was  scrupulously  honest, 
and  would  not  take  an  unfair  advantage  of 
any  one.  He  had  a  kindly  generous  nature 
which  manifested  itself  in  his  intercourse  with 

12 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY    KEITH 

men  of  all  conditions.  This  combination  of 
qualities,  not  to  be  found  in  every  business 
man,  gained  for  him  a  comfortable  fortune 
and  an  enviable  reputation. 

Mr.  Keith  entertained  the  old-fashioned 
idea  that  it  was  the  duty  of  a  man  who  had 
a  stake  in  the  community  to  take  an  active 
interest  in  its  general  welfare.  So  he  did 
not  shut  himself  up  in  his  store  or  bank,  but 
endeavored  to  be  in  fact,  and  not  by  brevet, 
a  "public-spirited  citizen."  The  last  valu- 
able work  he  did  for  the  city  was  as  presi- 
dent of  the  New  Charter  Committee,  which 
succeeded  in  securing  the  submission  and  rati- 
fication of  the  charter  constitutional  amend- 
ment. Mr.  Keith  did  not  think  it  undignified 
for  him  to  go  into  politics  and  to  "run  his 
ward,"  but  not  to  get  offices  for  himself. 
He  was  for  a  time  the  "  beneficent  boss"  of 
his  bailiwick.  When  he  stepped  out,  other 
bosses  who  had  few  of  his  good  qualities,  and 
whose  rule  was  not  so  good-naturedly  sub- 

13 


IN    MEMORIAM 

mitted  to,  succeeded  him.  The  successful, 
high-minded  business  man  would  be  a  leader 
whom  the  people  would  gladly  follow  were 
he  to  turn  his  attention  to  practical  politics, 
but  Chicago,  which  once  had  leaders  of  that 
kind,  has  none  now. 

Chicago  has  lost  a  broad-minded,  philan- 
thropic and  energetic  citizen,  always  ready 
to  give  time  and  money  for  the  public  good. 
The  business  community  has  lost  one  of  its 
ablest  and  most  upright  members,  whose 
advice  was  eagerly  sought  and  confidently 
followed. 

The  Chicago  Evening  Post  of  May  18, 
1905,  gave  this  estimate  of  him: 

ELBRIDGE  GERRY  KEITH 
Elbridge  G.  Keith  was  a  conspicuous  ex- 
ample of  that  very  useful  citizen,  the  busi- 
ness man  who  takes  an  active  and  intelligent 
interest  in  the  general  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  lives.  He  was  not  slothful 
U 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY    KEITH 

in  business;  therefore  he  prospered.  He 
was  fervent  in  the  spirit  which  entered  into 
all  that  concerned  his  fellows;  he  could  be  in 
practical  politics  without  being  a  "practical 
politician." 

Some  men  there  are  who  can  be  nothing 
but  honest  in  their  business  dealings  and 
anything  but  honest  in  politics.  These  men 
cannot  be  called  good  citizens,  no  matter 
how  much  public  spirit  they  show.  Mr. 
Keith  did  not  belong  to  this  class.  He 
carried  his  business  honesty  into  the  ward- 
meeting,  into  everything  he  undertook  for 
the  betterment  of  the  city  and  of  his  fellow- 
citizens. 

If  Mr.  Keith  did  not  think  the  chosen 
officials  of  the  people  were  managing  public 
affairs  as  they  should  be  managed,  he  did 
not  sit  in  his  bank  or  in  his  library  and  rail  at 
dishonesty  and  corruption  in  politics;  he  got 
into  the  caucus  and  the  primary  and  forced 
the   dishonest  and   the  corrupt  and  the  in- 

15 


IN    MEMORIAM 

competent  to  retreat.  He  believed  that  a 
good  citizen  meant  an  active  citizen,  and  he 
acted  on  this  beHef. 

In  contributing  his  full  share  toward 
building  up  the  commercial  interests  of  his 
adopted  city  through  nearly  half  a  century  of 
activity,  Mr.  Keith  did  not  slight  other 
interests.  He  took  a  directing  hand  in  the 
business  of  the  board  of  education;  he  was 
a  leader  in  college  affairs;  religious  and 
philanthropic  institutions  and  movements 
received  his  hearty  support;  the  broader  field 
of  civic  improvement  and  progress  found 
him  an  ever-ready  worker;  and  he  had  time 
in  addition  to  play  his  part  in  the  social  life 
of  the  city. 

This  broad-minded,  energetic,  kind-heart- 
ed citizen  leaves  Chicago  a  legacy  that  can- 
not be  measured  in  terms  of  dollars  and 
cents.  His  life  of  active  endeavor  and  con- 
spicuous achievement  is  an  encouragement 
to  every  young  man  to  make  the  best  of  his 

16 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY    KEITH 

opportunities;  to  slight  neither  business  nor 
pubhc  Hfe;  to  be  generous  and  charitable 
toward  all;  to  be  faithful  to  his  own  place, 
confident  in  his  own  powers,  honest  in  all 
his  dealings  and  steadfast  in  his  adherence 
to  what  he  believes  to  be  right. 

The  Union  League  Club  of  Chicago,  in 
commending  his  life  and  deploring  his  death, 
said  in  part: 

Mr.  Keith  possessed  the  sterling  virtues, 
the  unfaltering  courage,  the  patient  persist- 
ence, the  wise  caution  which  always  and 
ever5rwhere  insure  success.  Industry,  in- 
tegrity and  a  high  standard  of  honor  were 
wrought  into  the  very  fiber  of  his  being.  He 
was  simply  incapable  of  injustice.  While  he 
had  a  quiet  dignity  which  forbade  undue 
familiarity,  his  life  was  full  of  gentleness, 
sweet  courtesy  and  gracious  deeds.  His 
heart  was  a  perennial  fountain  of  kindness 
and  his  benefactions  were  abundant  but  un- 

17 


IN    MEMORIAM 

obtrusive.  He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  a  true 
and  steadfast  friend,  and  a  devout  Christian. 
But  his  rugged  uprightness,  softened  by  his 
transparent  candor,  simplicity  and  sincerity, 
was  the  charm  and  crowning  glory  of  his 
character.  He  was  not  ambitious  for  place 
or  power,  but  he  never  shrank  from  duty  or 
responsibility.  He  never  sought  place  or 
preferment,  but  when,  because  of  his  emi- 
nent fitness,  they  were  accorded  him,  he 
discharged  their  duties  with  conspicuous 
fidelity.  Self-poised  and  self-reliant,  he 
illustrated  most  admirably  the  beautiful  epi- 
gram of  Bishop  Hall:  "Moderation  is  the 
silken  string  running  through  the  pearl  chain 
of  all  the  virtues."  Firm  in  his  convictions 
of  right,  brave  enough  to  express  his  honest 
sentiments  on  all  occasions,  he  was  yet  so 
frank,  so  fair,  so  considerate  of  the  opinions 
of  others,  that  he  won  the  highest  esteem  and 
warm    regard    of  all   who    knew  him.     He 

was  fond  of  books  and  their  companion- 
is 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY    KEITH 

ship  was  the    solace  and  joy  of   his  leisure 
hours. 

Standing  to-day  in  the  somber  shadow  of 
his  tomb,  we  need  not  invoke  the  aid  of  the 
friendly  maxim,  De  mortuis  nil  nisi  bonum, 
as  an  excuse  for  discreet  speech  or  more  dis- 
creet silence,  for  there  was  nothing  in  his 
public  career  or  private  life  which  charity 
would  fain  conceal.  We  can  recall  no  un- 
just act,  no  unkind  word,  no  look  which 
could  wound  the  most  sensitive  soul.  His 
life  was  an  open  book  upon  whose  fair  pages 
are  recorded  only  gracious  words  and  worthy 
deeds,  whereon  is  found  no  disgraceful  stain, 
no  careless  blot.  His  character  was  the  in- 
carnation of  the  golden  rule,  his  life  its  beauti- 
ful exemplification.  It  is  of  such  men  that 
Emerson  says:  ''The  world  is  upheld  by 
the  veracity  of  good  men;  they  make  the 
earth  wholesome.  They  who  live  with  them 
find  life  glad  and  nutritious."  Having  filled 
the    full   measure    of     a    noble    and    useful 

19 


IN    MEMORIAM 

life,    "God's   finger   touched   him    and    he 
slept." 

He  will  be  greatly  missed  in  the  city  he 
has  done  so  much  to  improve  and  beautify; 
in  the  church  where  he  has  so  long  and  faith- 
fully wrought  and  sincerely  worshiped;  by 
the  friends  to  whom  his  companionship  has 
been  so  precious.  The  members  of  this  Club 
whose  relations  to  him  were  so  pleasant,  and 
who  entertained  for  him  such  sincere  respect, 
will  misshis  genial  greeting,  his  earnest  words, 
his  responsive  sympathy,  and  will  sorrow 
most  of  all  that  they  shall  see  his  face  no  more 

"Till  the  sun  grows  cold 
And  the  stars  are  old, 
And  the  leaves  of  the  judgment-book  unfold." 

On  the  shining  heights  beyond  the  river,  in 
the  beautiful  land, 

"  Whose  skies  are  not  like  earthly  skies, 
With  varying  hues  of  shade  and  light, 
Which  hath  no  need  of  suns  to  rise 
To  dissipate  the  gloom  of  night," 

he    has    entered    upon    the    immortal    life. 
There  he  awaits  our  tardier  footsteps. 

20 


Privately  printed  by 
C.L.Ricketts,  Chicago 


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